Edgar Mitchell dead at age 85: originally published Feb 7

On Thursday, Feb 4, we lost Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell when he passed away while under hospice care near his home in Lake Worth, Florida. Along with being an astronaut he was also interested in the workings of the mind, an author, and medal of freedom recipient. His death came just one day before the 45^th anniversary of his becoming the 6^th man to step foot on the surface of the Moon.

"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "As a member of the Apollo 14 crew, Edgar is one of only 12 men to walk on the moon and he helped to change how we view our place in the universe.

Edgar Mitchell enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after he graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management in 1952. Once in the Navy he went into pilot training and in 1953 became earned the title of ensign pilot. After becoming a pilot Mr. Mitchell was assigned to Patrol Squadron 29 and deployed to Okinawa. During his deployment he served on a couple of aircraft carriers before going to the United States Naval Postgraduate school where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1961.

It wasn't until late 1962 that Mr. Mitchell started thinking about being an astronaut. It was that year that he heard a speech by President John Kennedy that talked about putting a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. After hearing that speech he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a Doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1964. Over the next couple of years he served as Chief of the project management division of the Navy field office for the manned orbiting laboratory and trained at the Aerospace Research Pilot school.

In 1966, while still in the Navy, NASA made Mr. Mitchell an astronaut. His first assignment for NASA was as the back-up lunar module pilot for Apollo 10. It was a couple of years later when his shot at being on the main crew came up and he was made the lunar module pilot for Apollo 14. His crew-mates for the mission would be Alan Shepard, the first man in space, and Stuart Roosa.